A family pressures a girl to undergo a harmful traditional practice, claiming it is a cultural requirement she cannot refuse.
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The Situation
What They Said
“This is our tradition. Every woman in this family has gone through it. You have no right to refuse.”
A family or community member pressures a girl or woman to submit to a harmful traditional practice, framing refusal as cultural disloyalty or disrespect.
The Fallacy
Appeal to Tradition to Override Bodily Integrity
The argument that a harmful practice must be accepted because it is traditional is a classic appeal to tradition fallacy. Longevity does not confer legality or morality. No cultural practice — however long-standing — can override a person's fundamental right to bodily integrity, security, and health. Such practices cause permanent physical harm with no medical benefit and are recognized internationally as a form of violence against women and children. A family's history of a practice is not consent by the current person.
What the Law Says
Your Legal Foundation
Ley 26.485 de Protección Integral a las Mujeres
art. 3 de la Ley 26.485 — Protection against gender violence
“Promote the implementation of agreements with Professional Associations, academic institutions, and civil society organizations to provide specialized and free legal assistance.”
This provision supports the right to free legal aid for women facing violence, which includes FGM as a form of gender-based violence. The girl or woman pressured to undergo FGM can seek assistance from such organizations to understand her rights and obtain protection.
What Scripture Says
God's Word on This
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NET)
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.”
The body belongs to God — not to a family, a tradition, or a community. What is done to the body is a spiritual matter. Permanent harm to the body in the name of tradition does not honour God.
Psalm 139:14 (NET)
“I will give you thanks because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.”
God made the body complete. A tradition that surgically removes parts of the body to control female sexuality starts from a premise that God's design was deficient — which Scripture does not support.
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You Know the Law — But Do You Know What to Say?
Reading your rights is one thing. Using them under pressure — calmly, correctly, in the right words — is what actually protects you. Members get the scripted rebuttal for this exact situation: what to say first, what to say if they push back, the tone to use, and the constitutional provision to cite. Practise out loud with audio until it's automatic.